Antirefillable bottle



(No Model.)

G. J. FRANKEN. ANTIREFILL-ABLE BOTTLE;

.No. 577,426. 7 v Patented Feb. 23, 1897.

mmwmm\ J. 3 "N l/l with rates GARRITT J. FRANKEN, OF SCHENEOTADY, NEWYORK.

ANTiREFlLLABLE BOTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,426, dated February23, 1897.

Application filed February 29, 1896. Serial No. 581,236. (No model.)

in antirefillable bottles, the object thereof being to provide means foreffectually preventing the refilling of a bottle with spurious orcounterfeit contents after it has been emptied of its original genuinecontents. It is a well-known fact that bottles containing the nia of theoriginal genuine article.

finest brands of whisky and other choice liquors are often refilled withcheap grades of liquor, which are sold at the same price as the finestgrades, being presented to the customer in the same bottle as that whichoriginally contained the finest grade, and thus the customer is imposedupon and deceived, the deception being accomplished by the use of thebottle bearing the trade-marker other insig- By making it impossible torefill such bottles, and rendering them no longer fit for use after theyare once emptied of their original contents, the fraud alluded to iseffectually prevented.

My invention therefore consists, essentially, in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the several parts of an antifillabledevice, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is asectional View of the month end of the bottle and showing my improvedantirefilling means situated therein, said means being shown inelevation and the bottle itself being delineated in an upright position.the mouth end of the bottle, which is represented in a horizontalposition, and the mechanism of my improved antirefilling means situatedWithin the bottle-neck and represented for the most part in section.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

A designates a bottle of any suitable kind,

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view of variety, and size adapted tocontain the original contents of high grade. This bottle A has anelongated chamber B in its neck, said chamber B being connected with themain body of the bottle by a contracted neck a, which forms a seat forthe ball-valve G. The outer end of the chamber B terminates in thecylindrical and cork-receiving projection O, of less diameter than theupper end of chamber B, the latter merging into the projection 0 throughthe rounded shoulder or offset 1). The projection C is adapted toreceive a closely-fitting cork or other stopper, which of course mustfirst be Withdrawn before access can be had to the interior of thebottle for removing the original contents of the latter.

Inside of chamberB is a skeleton valve-carrying frame, which ispreferably made of some sort of spring-metal that is rustless or is maderustless after the making of the frame, and which, if desired, may bemade wholly or in part of some other material, such as glass orporcelain or some other substance that is not acted upon readily by theliquid contents of the bottle. The. spring-frame consists of a lowerintegral ring D, which is seated upon the contracted neck a. The upperend of the spring-frame comprises a plurality of diverg ing or inclinedspring-arms, which project beneath the shoulder or rounded flange b andpreferably enter a groove 1), formed on the inside of said shoulder.These diverging arms d spring outwardly from the ring D. Between ring Dand the bottom integral ring D is preferably an intermediate ring D. Therings D and D are connected by the strips D and the rings D and Dby thestrips D said springs D preferably alternating in position with thestrips D Thus it will be seen that the spring-frame is of a skeletonform throughout, readily permitting the passage through it of the liquidcontents of the bottle.

Inside of the spring-frame is an inverted conical part E, which isriveted between the rings D and D. This is clearly shown in section inFig. 2. The conical part E is preferably open at each end. It serves tocontrol the position of a ball F, which acts as a guideball or weightfor keeping the ball G, which acts as a valve upon its seat upon theconical neck a whenever the bottle is in a vertical position, as shownin Fig. 1, or in a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 2. The ball Gis preferably larger in size than the ball F. The operation of thevarious parts of my improved antirefilling means will be obvious fromthe foregoing description of their arrangement and construction. \Vhenthe bottle is inverted, it will be obvious that the ball F will fallinto the small end of the conical part E, and the ball G will likewisedrop into the cone E. \Vhile the parts are in this position the liquidcontents of the bottle will easily be discharged from the open-worksides of the skeleton frame which is within the chamber 13 and willemerge through said chamber and between the arms (Z into the projection(J and out of the end of the bottle. \Vhenever it is attempted to refillthe bottle, it will be found impossible to do so. If, for instance, thebottle is in the upright position shown in Fig. 1, ball G will close theneckopening at a and prevent the admission of liquid into the bottle. Ifin the operation of refilling the bottle is held on its side, as shownin Fig. 2, the valve G will still close the opening at a, because theball F will gravitate upon the inclined inner face of the conical part Eand will wedge against the valve G and keep it closed. Thus it will befound impossible to refill the bottle. The springframe is introducedinto the chamber B through the hollow projection 0, being compressedduring the operation, which compression is easily permitted on accountof its springy character, and when so introduced its arms (1 will expandinto the position shown in Fig. 1, thus making the device absolutelynon-withdrawable from the bottle-neck.

Numerous changes in the exact form and cork-receivin g projection,between which and I the elongated chamber is a shoulder or offset oflarger diameter than the cork-receiving projectiomof a non-removableskeleton valvecarrying frame of spring metal located within the chamberand having at its upper end a plurality of diverging spring-arms whichengage the aforesaid shoulder, and having likewise at its lower end anintegral ring which rests 011 the contracted neck, and having alsointermediate rings, the rings being connected by lateral strips,substantially as shown, a ball-valve adapted to be seated on thecontracted neck, a central inverted cone secured in the spring-frameabout midway of the length thereof, and a ball within said cone incontact with the ball-valve, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' GARRITT J. FRANKEN. Witnesses:

WILLIAM W. WEMPLE, J. TELLER SCHOOLCRAFT.

